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H.S. Sports: Snowstorm postpones WVC schedule; some Tuesday events off as well

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Grant awarded to Children’s Center of Wyoming and Susquehanna Counties

Little Evee is one lucky kitten, thanks to some dedicated firefighters and a generous neighbor.
				&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a wonderful, wonderful group of men,&rdquo; Annette Razvillas of Pittston said, describing the members of the Pittston Township Fire Department who persevered through an all-day mission and eventually rescued the little cat on Tuesday evening, hours after she had fallen into a drain pipe.
				&ldquo;This magnificent woman encouraged the effort,&rdquo; Annette&rsquo;s husband, Bob Razvillas said, praising his son&rsquo;s neighbor, Pat Pickering, who gave permission for the firefighters to dig up her yard to reach the trapped kitten.
				Thinking of the little animal who was stuck underground, below her deck, Pickering said, &ldquo;my heart was broken.&rdquo;
				She has two dogs and two cats of her own, Pickering said, but even if she wasn&rsquo;t an animal lover, &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t let her die like that.&rdquo;
				The ordeal for little Evee, who belongs to the Razvillas&rsquo; son Josh and his girlfriend, Bianca Miller, started around 7 p.m. Monday, when she slipped out of their home in Stauffer Pointe.
				&ldquo;In a flash she was gone,&rdquo; Bob Razvillas said, explaining that the family spent the next five hours walking around the neighborhood and calling for the little pet, to no avail.
				When they resumed the search Tuesday morning, they could hear the 6-month-old kitten mewing &mdash; and realized she had fallen 8 feet down into a drain pipe.
				What happened next, Bob Razvillas explained in an email, was that &ldquo;a community came together to save a small life.&rdquo;
				The family has a long list of people to thank, including Pittston Township Fire Department Deputy Chief Tony Ranieli, Jordan Consagra, Tony Angelella, Adam Valkos, Russ Searfoss, and Ben Pace who responded to the scene, at one point digging with hand shovels until the township backhoe arrived; the utility companies that quickly responded to confirm where it was safe to dig, and John Fritz from Roto-Rooter whose snake camera gave the searchers a view of the cat, who had worked her way into a feed line connected to the drain pipe.
				Bob Razvillas described her position as &ldquo;nose first into the pipe, with just her hind paws visible, apparently stuck.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure if a fire broke out they would have immediately mobilized, or if a child got stuck somewhere they would have run for the urgent matter, because that&rsquo;s what firefighters do,&rdquo; Bob Razvillas said. &ldquo;But there was no doubt they would have come back.&rdquo;
				Finally, about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the firefighters were able to retrieve Evee and hand her back to her relieved owners.
				There was applause, and plenty of cheering, Bob Razvillas said.
				Miller wrapped the kitten in a towel and was about to take her into the house when Pickering, the neighbor, asked for a moment to celebrate with the little rescue.
				&ldquo;I said, &lsquo;Whoa, stop&rsquo; and I gave her a million kisses. She was looking at me like, what are you doing,&rdquo; Pickering said with a laugh.
				&ldquo;It was a long 24 hours,&rdquo; Bob Razvillas said, adding that the kitten was soon eating, drinking and playing as if nothing had happened.
				&ldquo;This is a story of hope restored and faith renewed,&rdquo; he said, adding that it&rsquo;s especially welcome during this time of the pandemic and so much unrest.
				The Razvillas family also wants to thank Pittston Township Fire Chief Alan Capazucca, Pittston Township Supervisor Dave Slezak, the Pittston Township Sewer Authority, and the many friends and relatives who &ldquo;showed up and scoured the neighborhood.&rdquo;

Community comes together ‘to save a little life’